He set off across the lot to the Spar as the Mercedes drove away. Annie turned his way … did he imagine a hand raised, bidding him farewell?
After purchasing several gallons of distilled water and loading them into the back of his Range Rover, he allowed Bannon to leap free. She accompanied him into Dunne’s Farm Supply Store, where her best friend, Hilary, a black lab with a grizzled muzzle, greeted her with subdued wags and gentle sniffs. After a moment, Hilary settled back on her squashed square cushion.
“Not feeling well today, girl?” Daniel bent to rub Hilary’s warm, bony head. She responded with a few licks, then rested her long snout between her paws. Bannon nosed around Hilary’s ears before she trotted off to the paint section, where the clerks kept a supply of dog biscuits.
“She’s not long for this world, our Hilary.” Maeve Brady clucked with regret from her perch on a step stool, where she was arranging hoes upside down on a display mount. “But she made it through another winter, the old girl. Maybe the sun will see her through the spring and summer.” She climbed down. “What can I do you for, Danny?”
“Another special order.” He unfolded a list and placed it on the counter. Maeve retrieved a pair of reading glasses from the side pocket of her cardigan.
“Let’s see. Five hundred mil bottle of ammonium hydroxide, a case of five hundred gram ammonium chloride. I’ve got a case of this ferrous sulfate in stock. I’ll let you take that now and just order more with this lot.”
Maeve called in the order to the chemical supplier in Cork, while Daniel grabbed bags of dog food and birdseed. “That’s in, then,” she said when he returned to the front. “Should have a delivery by the end of the week. What are you working on?”
“O’Meara’s landed me several sheets of roofing copper,” Daniel said. “This”—he waved at his list—“is for experimenting with different patinas. Just making sure I’ve got the right chemicals on hand when inspiration strikes.”
“Well, as long as you don’t blow up half of Beara with your science experiments.” Maeve winked. She leaned over the counter and in a stage whisper asked, “You’ll know who was in town last night, right there at MacCarthy’s?” Not expecting a response, she hurried on. “Your man James MacKenna, with his mine and his Mercedes. I was enjoying my Sunday pint with Mr. Brady, and he breezed in with a pretty blonde on his arm. They joined a group in suits. Even Des Pattwell was there. On a Sunday!” she crowed, delighting in her outrage. “I heard her talking. American. What do you suppose an American is doing here?”
“She’s with the mining company, doing PR work for them.” Daniel tried for offhand, but Maeve wasn’t having any of it. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Listen to you, Daniel Savage. A man in the know.”
“It’s not me—it’s Fiana. I’ve gotten the full rundown of who’s who. Fi’s organized an anti-mine movement with Michael Leahy and Mort MacGeoghegan.”
“The Beara Chough Coalition.”
Daniel snorted. “So, you know.”
“Know? I’m an official member.” She nodded to the window. Daniel had missed the display, focused as he was on getting through his errands as quickly as possible. Distracted by thoughts of Annie.
Plastered on a front window were several A3 flyers with a crudely drawn and colored Red-billed Chough set against a green-and-blue backdrop of what Daniel supposed was land and sky. Beara Chough Coalition! Unite Against the Mine! Preserve Pristine Beara! was etched in thick black marker underneath the bird. Meeting: Thursday, 5 April, 7:00 p.m. Ballycaróg Community Centre. Fiana’s mobile phone number was listed. He groaned and accepted the copy that Maeve thrust into his hand.
Daniel left Dunne’s with his supplies and returned to the mud-spattered Range Rover. Bannon jumped into the back, and he slammed shut the door behind her. “Lie down,” he called. The heeler circled three times, gazed beseechingly at Daniel, and then sank onto her bed. Daniel looked again at the poster before sailing it over his shoulder onto the backseat.